Episode 5's quite good. Barry's always hilarious.
Television Arrested Development
- Thread starter olesmyhero
- Start date
Just finished it.
It's good, but not great. Having the cast all together again definitely improved things but it also didn't quite have the quickfire pacing of the original series, which benefited from the 20 minute episode runtimes they usually tended to go with.
The plot's a bit all over the place. It's sort of meant to be set in 2015 I think (or maybe 2016) but it's also meant to be a few months after the last season, which I'm pretty sure was meant to be set in around the time it was released. The Lucille 2 stuff has the potential to be funny and sometimes is when plenty of classic misunderstandings take place, but it's also all a bit needlessly confusing and convoluted.
But there's still plenty of classic humour. The writing is generally solid even if it doesn't hit the heights of the original, and there are some nice subtle references in there you'd maybe miss first time around. George Michael/Maeby work well together and Lucille gradually grows into her awful self as the season goes on. Tobias is kinda a bit of a disappointment though and his story doesn't really go anywhere. But yeah, not bad overall, and it's probably a good sign for the episodes to come that the show gradually seemed to find its way after a rocky couple of opening episodes.
It's good, but not great. Having the cast all together again definitely improved things but it also didn't quite have the quickfire pacing of the original series, which benefited from the 20 minute episode runtimes they usually tended to go with.
The plot's a bit all over the place. It's sort of meant to be set in 2015 I think (or maybe 2016) but it's also meant to be a few months after the last season, which I'm pretty sure was meant to be set in around the time it was released. The Lucille 2 stuff has the potential to be funny and sometimes is when plenty of classic misunderstandings take place, but it's also all a bit needlessly confusing and convoluted.
But there's still plenty of classic humour. The writing is generally solid even if it doesn't hit the heights of the original, and there are some nice subtle references in there you'd maybe miss first time around. George Michael/Maeby work well together and Lucille gradually grows into her awful self as the season goes on. Tobias is kinda a bit of a disappointment though and his story doesn't really go anywhere. But yeah, not bad overall, and it's probably a good sign for the episodes to come that the show gradually seemed to find its way after a rocky couple of opening episodes.
See, I'm late to the party with this show, so am only just watching the 4th having read lots about how jarring the changed format and dip in quality are. I actually still think it's really good. Unlike seasons 1 to 3 it's better in blocks as the jokes open up over the season and not individual episodes.
In short, I'm surprised (and relieved) by how good it is.
Feck, totally forgot about this!
Disappointing to read the reviews here, but even season 4 had some fantastic moments/episodes, so will watch it regardless.
Disappointing to read the reviews here, but even season 4 had some fantastic moments/episodes, so will watch it regardless.
It's a weird season of TV. It's still very clever, with a lot of layered jokes that reveal themselves throughout the season, and a lot of the character work is actually quite interesting. But for me the problem with the split character episodes is that it loses its classic momentum and just isn't as funny as the originals were. It clicks into gear later in the season but I remember the George Sr. and Lindsay episodes really dragging, mainly because as supporting characters they always worked when they were bouncing off other characters, namely Michael.
Which probably gets to the heart of the problem for me...the show works best when it's got all its characters interacting together, plotting against each other etc. Some of the new/expanded characters work to an extent, but it's never as fun to see Tobias interacting with someone we've just met as it is to see him playing off Michael or Lindsay.
For all my complaints it's still great to have some new AD, and after the first episode most of the episodes had some moments that had me laughing a fair bit. They've all kinda merged into each other now but I remember five and seven as standouts.
I see what you're saying and there's no doubt that seasons 1 to 3 had a momentum and hit rate that 4 doesn't have but it's not as bad as has been suggested. And the format just seems to reflect the way tv viewing changed during the hiatus. Binge-watching / long form series became the thing and series 4 works with that. Whether they should've bent to the will of the viewer and changed a successful formula is debatable. But I like the fact they took the chance.
I’m on ep 6, and so far there’s been nothing as funny as even the best moments of 4. It all just feels rather laborious.
It also seems to have abandoned episodic story telling, so its kind of hard to tell the difference between each ep. So it really isn’t like the original series at all, in that respect.
I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.* ‘cos a lot of the intertwining stuff is still clever, and the characters are all still great, but it’s just a bit meh. The laughs aren’t really there.
* apart from the Ron Howard meta stuff. We just don’t need that. No one was asking for it.
It also seems to have abandoned episodic story telling, so its kind of hard to tell the difference between each ep. So it really isn’t like the original series at all, in that respect.
I can’t quite put my finger on what it is.* ‘cos a lot of the intertwining stuff is still clever, and the characters are all still great, but it’s just a bit meh. The laughs aren’t really there.
* apart from the Ron Howard meta stuff. We just don’t need that. No one was asking for it.
I enjoyed the new season immensely; great to have it back and I thought it was an improvement over season 4, which it seemed like I was the only one defending at the time. Plenty of good lines in these eight episodes, the Tobias stuff is better this season than last I think, though I agree with @Mockney that the Ron Howard stuff is unnecessary. I’d like there to be more of Lucille, and I miss Lindsay more than I thought I would in the episodes she’s not in, but I guess given Portia de Rossi’s retirement then we’re lucky to get anything of her at all.
I’ll rewatch them next week I think, usually there’s plenty of stuff to pick-up on with repeated viewings, but otherwise I look forward to the second half of the season.
I’ll rewatch them next week I think, usually there’s plenty of stuff to pick-up on with repeated viewings, but otherwise I look forward to the second half of the season.
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I didn't mind it initially, but yeah, a bit overdone. Doesn't help that his (fictional) daughter is a fairly dull character insofar as she's basically a plot device for the father-son tension.
Overall I still think one of the biggest problems is the longer run-times for episodes. More than any other comedy AD always relied on its ability to fire out quick, sudden and continuous layered jokes. The opening of the show's first ever episode (while throwing out a lot of exposition) manages to introduce Michael, his siblings, and Tobias within roughly two minutes, with plenty of jokes while doing so. 5-10 extra mins on an episode may not seem like much but can still drastically slow down the pacing.
Michael Cera finally looks his age, kinda.
He simultaneously looks like he's about 21 and 41. Very weird.
Finished it today. Nowhere close to the quality of the first 3 seasons. More on par with season 4 which was meh. Main laughs from me were with Tobias and Buster, and both barely had any role this season.
I have found it pretty poor so far. Season 1 and 2 were the highs I think, now they are simply dragging it on.
2 is the peak, but I'll maintain 3's as good as 1.
I thought it was a little average to be honest. I felt Season 4 was better than this. There are obviously some clever moments, but nothing that stands out and makes think, wow, that is hilarious.
However, I always felt A.D is something that gets better on a second or third watch. So wondering, whether I should do the same for the latest season as well.
However, I always felt A.D is something that gets better on a second or third watch. So wondering, whether I should do the same for the latest season as well.
Seconded
Haven't really enjoyed the fifth season all that much, and I say that as someone who considers the original cut of season four to be more adventurous, more intriguing and just funnier than season three. Let's go back.
Arrested Development's first two seasons aren't something I watch and bawl laughing at, because spending more than two or three seconds laughing at a particular joke means I'll end up missing the next one. The writing is so tight and the jokes are so fluid that one punchline just blends into the set-up for the next punchline. It's why it benefits so much from repeated viewings, even into the third and fourth seasons which aren't as good as the first two by any stretch.
But this fifth season, it just doesn't feel natural at all. You can watch three-to-four minute stretches of some episodes without a joke of any description being presented to you, and when the jokes do arrive they're not that funny. That first episode of the new season was 70% Ron Howard catching you up on what happened in season four because they know nobody watched it twice after its original run five years ago, and obviously forgot about everything.
The standard is still mostly solid and watchable, but I think a lot of this new season's strengths are borne out of how strong the characters are by default, and how much their mannerisms have stuck in our minds from the early seasons. The demand was low for this fifth season, the cast and writers don't really feel like they're bringing their A-game either, and it's mostly just been like watching a reunion tour for an act who probably should have given it up a decade ago.
Arrested Development's first two seasons aren't something I watch and bawl laughing at, because spending more than two or three seconds laughing at a particular joke means I'll end up missing the next one. The writing is so tight and the jokes are so fluid that one punchline just blends into the set-up for the next punchline. It's why it benefits so much from repeated viewings, even into the third and fourth seasons which aren't as good as the first two by any stretch.
But this fifth season, it just doesn't feel natural at all. You can watch three-to-four minute stretches of some episodes without a joke of any description being presented to you, and when the jokes do arrive they're not that funny. That first episode of the new season was 70% Ron Howard catching you up on what happened in season four because they know nobody watched it twice after its original run five years ago, and obviously forgot about everything.
The standard is still mostly solid and watchable, but I think a lot of this new season's strengths are borne out of how strong the characters are by default, and how much their mannerisms have stuck in our minds from the early seasons. The demand was low for this fifth season, the cast and writers don't really feel like they're bringing their A-game either, and it's mostly just been like watching a reunion tour for an act who probably should have given it up a decade ago.
I haven't managed to get through the latest season. Can someone tell me does it have a definitive ending or is it left open for a potential 6th season?
Just 8 (or was it 10?) episodes in the first part of the season, so, not even 5th one is finished. Not sure when they plan to release the rest.
And sadly to say, I actually don't really remember how the 8th (or 10th) episode even ended...
My mind is going to waste.
And sadly to say, I actually don't really remember how the 8th (or 10th) episode even ended...
My mind is going to waste.
Second half of season 5 is out today. Early reviews don't seem keen.
Gave up after about 2 eps of season 4. The first three still holds up though! 
I feel like they should just end it now. I did watch the first half of season 5 but I don’t remember much.
Confused about where I was up to. Did season 4 only have about about 5 episodes for ages? Definitely don't remember there being 22.
I like the new episodes.
They had season 4 with 15 episodes and then remixed it as a 22-episode season.
Ah that must've been it. I don't remember watching more than 8 tops. Maybe I gave up.
Just watched the first episode of the second part of the season. Extremely meh. The humour seems to have lost all its subtlety. The only time I laughed out loud was when George, Lucille, Maebe and GM all pretending to talk as they passed each other.
AD used to be all about that kind of background understated humour.
AD used to be all about that kind of background understated humour.
They’ve lost itCan't be arsed going through "Season 5-B", to be honest. I completed "5-A" and thought it was decent at the time but I honestly can't remember much of it. I remember general plotlines but none of the jokes, and though I remember those plotlines I don't remember the specifics or how they connected to one another. That was the main problem, I thought - too much was happening, which meant too much time was given to exposition and therefore not enough to character or, most importantly, the jokes. One thing I do remember clearly was the first episode of 5-A being awful, as though they knew they had to catch everyone up on season 4 because nobody had revisited it in five years.
I remember that Maeby was scamming an old guy by pretending to be elderly herself. I remember that Michael was trying to find Lucille, who was hiding at a beach house with Tobias and falling in love with a guy on the beach? I remember Gob was fretting over being gay and working on routines with Tony Wonder. George Michael's muscle suit got wet and saggy. And was Lindsay running for governor before she disappeared? After that I'm really struggling. As I said, it's hard to remember much about how all these plots locked together because there were simply too many - probably a consequence of the scheduling conflicts that were obvious in season 4.
It's still a pleasant and watchable show, but I think season 4 without the cliffhanger ending would have been a much better way to go out. I'm a big defender of season 4 for many reasons - I admire its ambition, I admire the creative way they managed to work around the scheduling conflicts of the cast, I think it added some great new running gags to the canon and, ultimately, found it to be funnier than season 3 (don't get me started on the For British Eyes Only/Mr. F stuff). But at the same time, you could tell that they had to strain to pull that together. With 5-A it felt like they had to strain even harder to make it behave like the original show, even without having to cirsumvrent the cast's busy diaries. That's the sign of a dying show.
It's clear the cast don't like each other, it's clearly gonna be beating a dead horse soon enough, just let it end.
I remember that Maeby was scamming an old guy by pretending to be elderly herself. I remember that Michael was trying to find Lucille, who was hiding at a beach house with Tobias and falling in love with a guy on the beach? I remember Gob was fretting over being gay and working on routines with Tony Wonder. George Michael's muscle suit got wet and saggy. And was Lindsay running for governor before she disappeared? After that I'm really struggling. As I said, it's hard to remember much about how all these plots locked together because there were simply too many - probably a consequence of the scheduling conflicts that were obvious in season 4.
It's still a pleasant and watchable show, but I think season 4 without the cliffhanger ending would have been a much better way to go out. I'm a big defender of season 4 for many reasons - I admire its ambition, I admire the creative way they managed to work around the scheduling conflicts of the cast, I think it added some great new running gags to the canon and, ultimately, found it to be funnier than season 3 (don't get me started on the For British Eyes Only/Mr. F stuff). But at the same time, you could tell that they had to strain to pull that together. With 5-A it felt like they had to strain even harder to make it behave like the original show, even without having to cirsumvrent the cast's busy diaries. That's the sign of a dying show.
It's clear the cast don't like each other, it's clearly gonna be beating a dead horse soon enough, just let it end.
They should have just done a movie instead.
Halfway through second half of season 5, and it starts really really slow, like almost little to no laugh out loud moments, but it is getting there. I am loving the overall Arc, brilliant symbolism and yes, of course the jokes may not be as fresh and creative as before because many shows have picked up on it now, but I am still enjoying it so far.
Mentioned before but what's with the weird clashing speech with the voiceover and recap scenes on the intros?
I think a lot of the audio was added in post-production. You see many such cases over the case of the episode where the actors just move their mouths and it doesn't align with what is being said. Think the issue was not all of the cast was available at the same time.
Weird. But this would just be a be case of turning down the audio behind the narration. Every now and then he says the same word as in the recap scene which makes me think it's on purpose, but it's just a jumbled mess the rest of the time.
This so much. It's extremely amateurish at times and the worst is scenes between Will Arnett and Ben Stiller. It's always a really obvious double and it just cuts back and forth between the two of them clearly who were never in the same room together.
The two Netflix seasons have been massive flops for me. They should have just left it alone.
Arrested Development has always had bad, hastily added in ADR, but it was a lot more palatable in the earlier, more ramshackle seasons.... the ones where the episodes were 22 minutes rather than 40.
Yeah why the hell did they increase episode time? I cannot think of a single reason as to why that would be seen as a good idea.
Writers/creators will always resist editing unless basically forced into it. But Neccessity is often the mother of invention and all that, and Netflix doesn’t force them to adhere to timeslots and the like. So they indulge...
It’s definitely on purpose and for some reason they think it’s funny but it’s overdone in every single episode. It’s sad to see what happened to what was a great show.
3 or 4 episodes into the second half of season 5 and I only realise now that Lindsay is gone. Actress retired from acting apparently.